OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM INDIANA BEAGLE:
Manley Miller is not related to Michele Miller in any way.
OFF THE RECORD STATEMENT: Even though Michelin and Manley claim not to be related, my own theory is that for a person named Miller to win a valuable prize and the person in charge of awarding that prize to be COINCIDENTALLY named Miller, well that’s about as likely as a presidential election being decided by a contested ballot count in a state governed by the brother of one of the candidates. Just sayin’.
And since this is MY rabbit hole and I am the rabbit hole King,
I hereby grant “INVITED” status to the 12 people who appear on this page. Please know that you 12 will accompany
Mr. CoincidentallyNamedMiller to the Special Event being planned for the Saturday Morning Dogs. Stay tuned to this Bat Channel for more Bat Information as details are decided.
– Indy
Indy,
Please tell the wizard Happy Sunday – and Happy Father’s (and Grandfather’s) Day to him!
Mr. Manley (who according to him, is young enough to be my son – little bastard) was the ONLY one who got it right. Quite a brain that guy has… I myself was completely lost (a blow to my ego, by the way).
Here are the other entries worthy of attention, simply because they gave a reasoning behind their guesses. People REALLY got stuck on Don Knotts.
Michele
1) Chris Hoffman:
Night of the Living Dead is the movie I believe Don and Indy are watching.
Why do I think this?
The film was the first full length feature directed by George A. Romero, who early on filmed shorts for Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. The film was inspired by Richard Matheson’s 1954 book I Am Legend. He was quoted as saying, “I couldn’t use vampires because he did, so I wanted something that would be an earth-shaking change. Something that was forever, something that was really at the heart of it…In Richard’s book, the original I Am Legend, that’s what I thought that book was about. There’s this global change and there’s one guy holding out saying, wait a minute, I’m still a human. He’s wrong. Go ahead. Join them. You’ll live forever! In a certain sense he’s wrong but on the other hand, you’ve got to respect him for taking that position.” He also dared to be different by casting Duane Jones in the lead, unusual at that time. Romero also said the film was a reflection of the time: “It was 1968, man. Everybody had a ‘message’. The anger and attitude and all that’s there is just because it was the Sixties.” Romero risked Glorious Failure by braving to be different and you and Ted referenced zombies 6 times on the first page of MMM.
I do have to admit, when saw your request and I thought about late 60’s films that would have Don wide-eyed in horror, this was the first film that popped in my head. So your zombie references throughout must’ve done the trick. Then a quick search on Wikipedia turned up lots of clues that seemed to link back to things in the Rabbit Hole.
Hope I got it right!
2) Stephen Palmer:
My guess is “The Shakiest Gun in the West” starring Don Knotts.
My reasoning is that, first, I simply picked up on some clues in the Rabbit Hole:
- Don Knotts
- Late ’60s or early ’70s (Shakiest Gun in the West was released in 1968)
- Civil War reference (when I googled this, the movie came up)
Secondly, the plot line just sounds right. I’ve never actually seen the movie, but here’s the gist from the descriptions I’ve read, with comparisons to Don Quixote:
- Jesse Haywood is just a regular dentist, but with grandiose dreams of going West to “fight oral ignorance.” Don Quixote is just a regular guy who develops grandiose dreams.
- Jesse is tricked by “Bad Penny” Cushing into a farcical marriage he believes is real. Don Quixote believes in a fictional “Dulcinea,” who is really a whore.
- Under the deception of the marriage and the influence of his grandiose dreams, he performs “heroic” deeds.
3) Huntly Ketchen:
Lawrence of Arabia, because:
- The hero rode a horse, which was Don Quixote’s mode of transportation.
- The hero travelled in a foreign land, with strange customs, going to war with an unknown enemy as did Quixote
- The hero faced physical hardship
- The hero was an I am not a we personality – the same as Don Quixote
- The hero attempted the impossible by crossing as desert the locals said could not be done
- The hero risked his own life to save another
4) Daniel Fryar:
My guess is that Quixote is watching How to Frame a Figg.
It stars Don Knotts, as a bookkeeper who was thought to be dumb.
He becomes the fall-guy for a crooked city council.
I think Quixote sees himself in Figg, as he saw himself in the shield of the Knight of the Mirrors (when he “comes to” in Man of La Mancha).
Figg figures things out, then fixes things, then lapses into paranoia.
I could be way off..
5) Erik Cudd:
“The Shakiest Gun In The West”
Don (Quixote) meaning Don Knotts and his facial expression at the theater is synonymous with the facial expression of Don Knott’s in this movie. Also the late 60’s and early 70’s reference as well as what appears to be a gunslinger in the background at the theater.
6) Chriss Camenzend:
Hi Michele,
I believe Don Quixote is watching the scen from The Godfather where the movie
producer awakes to find the head of his beloved horse next to him.
The look on the Don’s face says it all.
Chriss Camenzend
7) Lance McWilliams:
The movie is ‘No Deposit No Return’ Don Knott’s movie…the little girl in the back ground of the picture is the girl from the movie.
Thanks for all ya’ll do.
Lance McWilliams
8) Rick Copper:
Just got back from Provence and my brain is fried. As such, I went off the deep end with this one:
How to Frame a Figg, a movie made in the late 1960’s(?) with Don Knotts as a bumbling man put in charge of the city books so the politicians can take advantage of city coffers without getting caught. Figured with the current political climate, Lincoln in this MMM (and on the $5) and the shot of Indiana Beagle as Batman (Yvonne Craig who was better known for playing BatGirl on the original Batman TV series but co-starred in this movie).
Well, there you go. I have to go back to sleep.
How to Frame a Figg, a movie made in the late 1960’s(?) with Don Knotts as a bumbling man put in charge of the city books so the politicians can take advantage of city coffers without getting caught. Figured with the current political climate, Lincoln in this MMM (and on the $5) and the shot of Indiana Beagle as Batman (Yvonne Craig who was better known for playing BatGirl on the original Batman TV series but co-starred in this movie).
Well, there you go. I have to go back to sleep.
9) Curtis Knecht:
‘Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid’
Don is looking at the final scene, which explains his horror.
Others in the era who took the ultimate risk following a dream that took them out were:
Martin, Robert, JFK, Janice, Jimmy, John…
even Dorothy followed the rainbow through the tornedo, though she survived and learned a lot about coming home.
When I was a kid in the early 60s, I had a beagle, Flopsy, who as a pup used to snuggle down under my covers and sleep at my feet, under the covers, until early in the morning when she’d lick me awake (and I mean early) to let her out to run the hills. I named her after her ears. She would run the hills forever; she was in love with running and howling with pleasure when she found some animal to chase. Music to my ears. Did you know Flopsy?
Butch and Sundance took the ultimate risk following their dreams… no slouches at jumping, either.
10) Wendy Coburn:
I believe he is watching the movie “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”.
It had to be an American Civil War flick based on the references to Abraham Lincoln, right?
The time frame is right.
It was filmed in Madrid.
Was the song that was set to the “Good Chairs” part of the soundtrack? Sticking my neck out here, but if it wasn’t, it should have been.
11) Sue Herron:
I select 2001: A Space Odyssey as the film being watched by Don and Indy in the rabbit hole in the 6-11-12 MMM. Here is some of my reasoning although I guessed it before I backed it up with the literal clues. I had watched the rabbit hole about distractions before coming to this page. Because it is about exploration, but in a different context for Don. Many things are familiar and perhaps comforting to relate to, but at the same time frightening, such as the space suits. The artificial intelligence, Hal, the computer that talked and the whole story was pretty weird as I recall seeing it at a teenager. I’m sure there are other details that would fit, but I’m in a hurry to get this to you, since I did not get to the memo until Tuesday afternoon this week:)
12) Monica Ballard:
Although, on second thought, considering the time period and DQ’s astonished expression, perhaps he is watching the Zapruder film!